The LMP1 prototype car, will be motivated by a gasoline-based hybrid powertrain produced by Toyota Motor Corporation.

Peugeot and Audi have done well with their diesel-burning endurance racers at the famed Circuit de la Sarthe and Toyota is looking to make a little history of its own. Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) announced it would compete in a number of races in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LMP1 prototype car, which is being built at TMG’s high-performance technical center in Cologne, Germany, will be motivated by a gasoline-based hybrid powertrain produced by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan. The racer, that has yet to be given a name, should be testing in early 2012.

Most concept car drives take place in the smooth safety of a secluded proving ground or a closed racetrack but we drive the hand-finished Audi E-Tron GT concept on the cratered streets of downtown L.A.